50 Fun Facts About ARK: Survival Evolved

ARK: Survival Evolved entered early access in June 2015 to catch the dino fever around which blockbuster film?

Jurassic World reached cinemas later that same month, and creative director Jesse Rapczak said the launch was scheduled to take advantage of the excitement.

Which beach bird, an easy first tame in ARK: Survival Evolved, is farmed for its fast-laid eggs?

The Dodo is so docile and lays eggs so quickly that survivors keep flocks of them as a steady food supply. Wild ones are eaten by almost every carnivore on the beaches.

What does ARK: Survival Evolved call player groups whose members usually share tamed dinosaurs and buildings?

Tribes can appoint several admins and set their own rules for who owns each tame and structure, and on PvE servers two of them must both agree before a war can start.

Which Fast & Furious star joined the makers of ARK: Survival Evolved as president of creative convergence?

Vin Diesel took the role, in effect an executive producer, to oversee the sequel he was announced as starring in at The Game Awards 2020.

Which Doctor Who star voices the mutated villain Sir Edmund Rockwell in ARK: Survival Evolved's Genesis Part 2?

David Tennant plays Rockwell opposite Madeleine Madden's HLN-A, the AI companion who helps the player stop him seizing a colony ship.

Which streaming service premiered ARK: The Animated Series, whose voice cast includes Michelle Yeoh and Russell Crowe?

Paramount+ premiered the first part on March 21, 2024, more than three years after the show was announced at The Game Awards 2020.

Which flying mount in ARK: Survival Evolved must be hatched from a stolen egg and fed milk as a baby?

Wyvern adults are too resilient to tame, so survivors raid nests guarded by furious mothers, then knock out a female to collect the milk that keeps the hatchling alive.

Which mythical animal appears in ARK: Survival Evolved as a rare white Equus, with only one wild at a time?

The Unicorn bolts whenever a human comes near, and because only one can exist in the wild at once it is among the hardest tames to track down.

Which planet, overrun by corrupted creatures, is the setting of ARK: Survival Evolved's Extinction expansion?

Earth appears as a dystopian future wasteland, where survivors defend supply drops that fall from orbit while infected wildlife attacks on sight.

Which console missed ARK: Survival Evolved's early access launch because its maker had no early access program?

PlayStation 4 owners waited until December 2016, almost a year after Xbox players joined through Microsoft's Game Preview scheme, because Sony had no equivalent.

Which Seattle-area developer made ARK: Survival Evolved as its debut game, with help from Egypt's Instinct Games?

Studio Wildcard was founded in October 2014, the same month that preliminary work on its dinosaur survival game began.

Which flimsy material forms the first building tier in ARK: Survival Evolved, before wood, stone, metal and tek?

Thatch is where every base starts, and each later tier offers more protection but costs more resources to craft.

Which berry in ARK: Survival Evolved raises torpor, keeping a knocked-out creature unconscious while it is tamed?

Narcoberry can also be ground with spoiled meat in a mortar and pestle to make Narcotic, which tamers often prefer because it never spoils.

Which armoured dinosaur do ARK: Survival Evolved players use to mine metal, carrying it at greatly reduced weight?

Ankylosaurus smashes ore rocks with its tail, and survivors often have a large flyer airlift one from deposit to deposit.

Which huge theropod in ARK: Survival Evolved can fly into a rage when hurt and throw off its own rider?

Giganotosaurus builds rage with every hit it takes, biting harder as it angers, and even a tamed one can briefly turn on its own side.

Which giant flyer in ARK: Survival Evolved can carry a platform saddle, making it a mobile airborne base?

The Quetzal is the airborne answer to platform carriers like the Brontosaurus and Mosasaur, letting survivors build structures on its back.

What are the three giant floating towers in ARK: Survival Evolved, coloured red, green and blue, called?

Obelisks have terminals at their base where survivors hand in tribute to summon a map's bosses.

What does ARK: Survival Evolved call the permanent crafting recipes unlocked with points earned at each level?

Engrams survive a character's death and cannot be looted, unlike blueprints, which are items that other players can carry off.

Which colossal sauropod in ARK: Survival Evolved refuses to eat once tamed, so it eventually starves to death?

The Titanosaur towers over even the Brontosaurus and can carry a whole fortified base on its back for as long as it lasts.

Which crafted food in ARK: Survival Evolved, cooked from creature eggs, tames animals faster and with better stats?

Kibble comes in six quality grades, from Basic to Extraordinary, each matched to the size of the egg that goes into the cooking pot.

Which feathered predator from ARK: Survival Evolved's Aberration map climbs walls, glides and can turn invisible?

The Rock Drake cloaks its saddle and rider along with itself, so enemies never see either of them coming.

Which Alien-like Aberration monster in ARK: Survival Evolved is obtained only after its queen impregnates a survivor?

The Reaper offspring bursts from its host's chest, a nod to the xenomorph life cycle, and can only be claimed by the survivor who carried it.

Which sail-backed creature do ARK: Survival Evolved breeders keep beside eggs as a living air conditioner?

Dimetrodon insulates everything near its sail against both heat and cold, so eggs can incubate without any machinery.

Which small dinosaur in ARK: Survival Evolved makes nearby mated creatures lay eggs more often?

The Oviraptor gives off a pheromone that works as an aphrodisiac, and it will quietly steal eggs from wild nests on its owner's behalf.

Which feathered tyrannosaur in ARK: Survival Evolved terrifies enemies with its roar and gives allies a courage boost?

Yutyrannus also hunts alongside wild Carnotaurus, a rare alliance between two predator species, and can call them to its aid in battle.

Which Ice Age predator in ARK: Survival Evolved needs no saddle at all before a survivor can ride it?

The Direwolf is weak alone, but in the snow biome a pack can bring down creatures usually seen as the kings of the map.

Which marsupial predator ambushes ARK: Survival Evolved players by pouncing from high in the redwood trees?

Thylacoleo pins its victim under its weight and can knock a rider clean off a mount, which makes flying low through the redwoods risky.

Which gentle Extinction giant in ARK: Survival Evolved eats almost anything and grows loot crystals on its back?

The Gacha sheds its crystals instead of dung, and because they cover its back its rider sits in a basket slung from its neck.

Which tiny Genesis creature in ARK: Survival Evolved turns into a giant, aggressive beast when fed Element?

The Ferox is tamed by feeding it Element again and again, with the tamer fleeing each rampage until it shrinks back to its small self.

Which shoulder pet in ARK: Survival Evolved keeps its owner insulated and harvests silica pearls from fish?

The Otter rides around its owner's neck like a living scarf, and the fish it catches can occasionally yield rare black pearls too.

Which game-making software runs ARK: Survival Evolved and its tens of thousands of AI entities?

Unreal Engine 4 also gave the game virtual reality support, which creative director Jesse Rapczak said was designed in from the beginning.

Where on every survivor's body in ARK: Survival Evolved is the diamond-shaped Specimen Implant embedded?

The left arm is what a survivor glances at on first waking, and some player-killers collect their victims' dead implants as trophies.

Which festive character flies over ARK: Survival Evolved maps in a sleigh, dropping gifts at Winter Wonderland events?

Raptor Claus drops crates holding mistletoe and coal, which survivors cook into holiday items, alongside gear of unusually high quality.

Which device, first added with Extinction, stores a tamed ARK: Survival Evolved creature in a survivor's inventory?

A Cryopod holds its creature in an ice-cube state, and stored tames do not count toward a group's creature limit.

Which friendly sea creature in ARK: Survival Evolved swims up to survivors and is their first saddled aquatic mount?

Ichthyosaurus needs no tranquillisers at all: it is tamed simply by hand-feeding it each time it gets hungry.

Which cave-hidden items must ARK: Survival Evolved survivors collect as tribute before they can summon most bosses?

Artifacts make the cave walls around them pulse with a distortion effect, a warning to explorers that one is close by.

What does ARK: Survival Evolved call raising a baby creature with cuddles, walks and treats to boost its stats?

Imprinting a baby through its whole maturation raises its base stats by 20%, and it fights harder still when ridden by the player who raised it.

Which Australian biologist is the in-game author of the creature dossiers in ARK: Survival Evolved?

Helena Walker also lives on as HLN-A, the holographic guide of the Genesis expansions, which was given her personality.

Which free ARK: Survival Evolved map hides mystical realms named Asgard, Jotunheim and Vanaheim?

Fjordur began as a fan-made mod map before it became official, and two of its hidden realms contain enormous skeletons.

Which final boss of The Island in ARK: Survival Evolved waits beyond the Tek Cave and mimics the three Guardians?

The Overseer shifts into the giant ape, spider or dragon each time it loses a quarter of its health, while its drones swarm the arena.

Which 300 star voices the brutal Roman general Gaius Marcellus Nerva in ARK: The Animated Series?

Gerard Butler's Nerva is an Ancient Roman despot bent on remaking everything in his own image, opposed by Michelle Yeoh's rebel leader.

Which composer of Ori and the Blind Forest also wrote the score for ARK: Survival Evolved?

Gareth Coker was given an open brief with one request: the music should not sound like John Williams's famous dinosaur film score.

Which developer rebuilt ARK: Survival Evolved for Nintendo Switch in 2022 after the original port was panned?

Grove Street Games rebuilt the port from the ground up, and Eurogamer called the result one of the biggest improvements it had ever seen.

Which company sued an ARK: Survival Evolved co-founder over a non-compete agreement, settling for $40 million?

Trendy Entertainment had sought $600 million and a permanent ban on his new venture releasing any titles, saying Jeremy Stieglitz had hired away its staff.

Which Chinese-founded publisher released ARK: Survival Evolved's Extinction and Genesis expansions and made PixARK?

Snail Games is also tied to the developer through an affiliate that became its parent company after a merger in December 2015.

Which carnivorous mammal in ARK: Survival Evolved passively heals nearby tames by draining its own food reserves?

Daeodon burns 40 food every second while its healing is active, so tamers keep it well fed or the healing stops reaching new allies.

Which untameable sea creature in ARK: Survival Evolved stuns swimmers on contact and alone yields Bio Toxin?

Cnidaria drops the toxin survivors need to craft Shocking Tranquilizer Darts, a high-tech upgrade on ordinary tranquilliser ammunition.

Which small, loyal synapsid in ARK: Survival Evolved gives nearby tames an experience boost after being petted?

Lystrosaurus hands out the Fast Learner buff, which raises allied creatures' experience gain by 35% for five minutes.

Which swamp amphibian do ARK: Survival Evolved divers ride as a living oxygen tank?

Diplocaulus keeps air in bladders inside its boomerang-shaped head, and a rider sips from them to stay submerged without any scuba gear.

Which sea reptile in ARK: Survival Evolved is tamed with Giant Bee Honey and boosts the loot inside supply crates?

Liopleurodon is only a temporary tame: it stays for 30 minutes and then vanishes, though its Mystic Skin Oil buff lasts for hours.